The Emerald Isle (EI) Bogue Inlet Channel / Western Phase Beach Nourishment Project Realignment Project includes plans to reposition the Bogue Inlet channel to a more central position within the inlet floodway separating EI/Bogue Banks from Bear Island. This should relieve scouring pressures along the very western edge of EI, also known as The Pointe. The project is actually the last of a three-phased shore protection effort known as the Bogue Banks Beach Restoration Project. This effort has been approximately 90% financed through voter-approved bond referendums encompassing the communities of Pine Knoll Shores, Indian Beach/Salter Path, and EI. After EI’s 2002 bond referendum passed, the Town retained Coastal Planning & Engineering to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement and guide EI through the permitting process. These efforts culminated in the issuance of State and Federal permits received by the Town in September 2004.

The Project entails the realignment of the primary Bogue Inlet channel ~3,500 west of its present-day position with concurrent beach nourishment along 4.5 miles of western EI oceanfront. These scopes of work are also augmented with the construction of a dike within the present-day deep water channel aimed to inhibit tidal currents and direct flow to the new channel. The work must be completed by April 1, 2005 in order to meet the environmental moratorium schedule established by the resource agencies.

The realigned channel will trend along a north - south axis for approximately 7,000 feet with varying widths ranging from 150 feet at the northernmost terminus near Dudley Island, to a maximum width of 400 feet in the central portion of the channel that transitions to 200 feet at the southern, seaward end of the channel. It is estimated that the inlet shoreline will take 4 to 6 years to fully expand as sand migrates along the western shoulder of EI and the "spit" progrades in the westward direction towards the realigned channel. The construction update link located along the left-handed margin of this webpage contains schematics and additional information regarding the effort.

There are many unique features and subtleties with this project, but some of the more prominent aspects include; (1) The realigned channel has been carefully engineered to capture the exact tidal prism (volume of water flowing in and out of the inlet) that the present day inlet drains. In this manner, the hydrodynamics should remain relatively stable throughout the waterways connecting the sound to Bogue Inlet. (2) The beach nourishment template is approximately 30 cubic yards per linear foot (cy/ft). This is considered a relatively “small” template, but fortunately coincides with the fact that the western EI oceanfront is one of Bogue Banks’ more stable areas of shoreline. (3) The channel realignment project is a one time event – maintenance of the inlet will remain under the auspices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers utilizing a side-cast dredge. And while the depth and width of the cut for the realigned inlet will likely eliminate the need for maintenance dredging for potentially a year or two, long-range maintenance will remain as a “pending situation” based on the availability of Federal funds. (4) It is expected that the project will provide at least 15 years worth of protection for The Pointe based on an analyses of historical inlet migration rates.

From a holistic standpoint, the project has many positive attributes as well. Improving navigation within the Bogue Inlet floodway, saving homes and infrastructure along the Pointe shoreline, conserving bird habitat, and utilizing high quality sand for beach nourishment along the western EI oceanfront are beneficial for a host of interests and stakeholders that are involved with, and ultimately impacted by the project.